37. Katya
Katya
Katya
I once thought this estate was a romantic paradise. Now I see it for what it really is: a battlefield.
Back then, Dmitri brought me here under the pretense of a peaceful getaway. I thought it was a retreat from the city. In reality, I was his captive, kept compliant, confused, and blind to who I was.
Now, the estate crawls with Kozlov soldiers, cameras, and enough weapons for a small war.
Every room that once felt intimate has been turned into a tactical post. The bedroom where he swore we were husband and wife is stacked with ammo. The kitchen is a communications hub, with wires and radios everywhere.
“Perimeter secured,” Boris reports as he steps into the living room—once Dmitri’s seduction headquarters, now a command center. “Twenty-two men around the property. Backup in the forest. Charges set at every access point.”
Dmitri studies the monitors mounted where expensive paintings used to hang. Those walls once carried photographs to sell the lie of a perfect marriage. Now, they’re plastered with tactical maps and enemy approach routes.
“Clear channels confirmed,” Boris continues. “Viktor’s team is holding at the warehouse district, waiting to move.” He adjusts the radio. “The disinformation’s working. Our sources tell Viktor you and Katya fled here alone after shooting Alexei. As far as he knows, you’re isolated.”
“And Alexei?” Dmitri asks.
“Still in the hospital. Under guard. Furious. Planning retaliation against you.” Boris allows himself a thin smile. “Viktor believes every word.”
I watch them move—soldiers checking sectors, radios hissing— and the place feels smaller and meaner now that I know.
Last time we were here, every line was scripted to sell the fake marriage. He’d take my hand at dinner and tell invented stories about our courtship. We’d walk the lake while he fed me memories I didn’t have.
It was psychological warfare to keep me dependent and unsure of who I was.
Anya comes in with a laptop and a fat stack of intercepted comms. “Viktor’s assault team is moving tonight. I’ve been on FSB channels. They’re running full military protocols.”
“Numbers?” Alexei calls from the window. His arm hangs in a sling, but he won’t get stuck in the backup room.
I shift, careful of the stitches in my shoulder. I could sit this out, but neither Alexei nor I will let this be someone else’s fight.
“Minimum of fourteen, possibly as many as eighteen. They brought night vision systems and heavy assault weapons. They’re planning to eliminate everyone connected to Pavel’s death.”
“Which includes all of us,” Dmitri says.
“And Viktor thinks it’s just you and me,” I add. “Two fugitives. Defenseless.”
That lie is our weapon. He expects to find us cornered. Instead, he’ll walk into a kill box.
Dmitri’s men will hold the house, baiting Viktor’s assault team into what looks like a desperate last stand. Alexei’s crew will cut the exits and set the crossfire.
Viktor thinks this will be easy. He has no idea he’s walking into a trap he won’t crawl out of.
“Status on backup comms?” Anya asks, fingers flying over the keys.
“Redundant channels live,” Boris replies. “If they jam primaries, we switch to secondary.”
“What about Viktor?” I ask. “He’s not going to personally lead this assault.”
“Viktor doesn’t need to be here,” Dmitri replies while adjusting camera angles on the surveillance system. “Once we eliminate his operational capacity, he becomes just another corrupt intelligence officer with no resources and plenty of enemies inside the FSB.”
“You think that neutralizes him?”
“Viktor without his people solves itself. “Other FSB factions will clean him up once they find out he’s been running off-book ops and selling state secrets.”
Alexei checks his watch and winces as the movement pulls at his injured shoulder. “Full darkness in seventy minutes. If they move tonight, contact should be any minute.”
“Final equipment verification,” Dmitri commands through his radio. “All personnel armed and in assigned positions. All teams prepare to execute on my signal.”
Acknowledgments snap through the room as men finish prep. This isn’t last-minute improvisation. We have numbers, positions, coordination, and a single voice calling the shots.
“Movement on East cams,” Anya announces. “Three vehicles approaching through the forest access road.”
We crowd the monitors. Black SUVs crawl up the dirt road in tight formation, using professional spacing, with weapons visible through tint. The discipline says they aren’t amateurs.
“Confirmed hostile approach,” I tell the room. “Military formation is FSB operational protocol. That’s definitely Viktor’s remaining network.”
“All teams, contact imminent,” Dmitri broadcasts through the radio system. “Execute defensive positions now.”
Soldiers take their stations, and Alexei moves to the rear to coordinate. Anya settles at her comms hub, where she can monitor both friendly and enemy transmissions.
Dmitri and I slide to the front windows, low behind reinforced cover, watching the road and counting the seconds.
“How do you feel about being back here?” he asks without taking his eyes off the surveillance monitors.
“Strange. Last time I was here, I thought I was your wife recovering from a car accident. Now I’m your partner and preparing to fight for our lives.”
“Do you regret learning the truth?”
“About what you did to me? Or about how I feel now?”
“Both.”
I consider the question while watching Viktor’s assault team advance toward positions where they’ll be vulnerable to our ambush. “I regret that you felt manipulation was necessary. But I don’t regret where it led us.”
“Even knowing I kept you prisoner in this place while pretending it was a romantic retreat?”
“Well, the alternative was letting Viktor’s people kill me, and whatever your motivations were then, you chose to protect me.”
Dmitri turns to face me, and the emotion in his green eyes makes my pulse skip. “Katya, before this starts, I need to tell you something important.”
“If you’re about to give me some speech about the dangers we’re facing, save your breath. I already understand the risks.”
“It’s not about the danger.” He reaches out and takes my hand. “I love you.”
The words echo through the room despite all the background noise. He said it to Alexei during their reconciliation meeting, but hearing him say it to me feels different. More personal, more real, and more like a promise than a statement.
“I know you already know it, but I needed to say it to you. Not because I think we might not survive this, but because it’s the truth, and you deserve to hear it from me.”
I hesitate, but one look at him, and I know he means it.
“I love you, too,” I reply, and my cheeks heat up at the smile that spreads across his face. “You chose to become someone better than the man who kidnapped me, and I chose to forgive someone who earned a second chance through his actions.”
He lifts my hand to his lips and brushes a kiss over my knuckles. “Promise me that if this goes wrong, if something happens to me during the fighting, you’ll get out alive and build a life somewhere safe.”
“Nothing’s going to happen to you.”
“Promise me anyway.”
“I promise. But you have to promise me the same thing.”
“Deal.”
A high-pitched whistle from Boris interrupts our conversation. On the monitors, the vehicles have stopped at the outer perimeter of the property, and armed figures are emerging from each SUV.
“Sixteen confirmed hostiles visible,” Boris reports through his radio.
“All teams maintain positions,” Dmitri responds calmly. “Let them believe they have a tactical advantage until they’re fully committed to the attack.”
On the surveillance screens, we watch Viktor’s team move toward their assault positions around the main compound. They use proper cover techniques, maintain radio communication, and advance with a systematic approach that demonstrates extensive military training.
“They’re very good at this,” I observe.
“They’re about to discover we’re better.”
The cold confidence in Dmitri’s voice reminds me that, despite his capacity for love and protection, he’s still a dangerous man who’s been eliminating threats to his family for most of his adult life.
“Additional movement detected on the southern approach,” Anya reports from her position at the communications hub. “Two more vehicles, approximately eight additional hostiles. They’re implementing a full-encirclement strategy.”
“Exactly as anticipated,” Dmitri replies without concern. “Alexei’s team is positioned to intercept and eliminate the southern assault group.”
Through our communication system, I hear Alexei coordinating with his men as they prepare to engage Viktor’s southern team. Despite his injury and obvious discomfort, his tactical thinking remains sharp and his leadership decisive.
“Northern assault team approaching final positions,” Boris updates. “They’re preparing for a breach of the main house.”
“All teams prepare for execution phase,” Dmitri commands through the radio. “Wait for my signal before engaging.”
The tension in the room is suffocating as we watch Viktor’s forces complete their tactical deployment around the estate. They move with confidence, believing they’re about to eliminate a weakened target that poses minimal threat to their superior numbers and equipment.
“Eastern team in position,” comes another radio report.
“Western approach secured by hostile forces,” adds another voice.
“They’ve completed the encirclement,” I whisper, watching the monitors as armed figures take concealed positions on all sides of the property.
“Perfect,” Dmitri replies with a smirk. “Now they’re right where we want them.”
On every monitor, Viktor’s assault forces complete their final preparations. Weapons trained on the building, night vision equipment activated, and communication systems coordinated for simultaneous assault from multiple directions.
They have no idea they’re about to become the hunted instead of the hunters.